diff --git a/benchmarking/nightly-benchmark.yaml b/benchmarking/nightly-benchmark.yaml
index daa48496dc..4aac5f9732 100644
--- a/benchmarking/nightly-benchmark.yaml
+++ b/benchmarking/nightly-benchmark.yaml
@@ -57,6 +57,11 @@ sinks:
 # Whether to delete scratch dirs after each run
 delete_scratch: true
 
+# The size of the object store used by Ray which can be either a value in bytes (int), or
+# a fraction of total system memory (float), or the value "default" (string) which allows
+# for "ray start" to determine object store size.
+object_store_size: 536870912000  # 500GB
+
 entries:
   - name: domain_classification_raydata
     enabled: true
@@ -91,7 +96,6 @@ entries:
       - metric: domain_label_news_count
         exact_value: 2817
 
-    object_store_size_bytes: 214748364800
   - name: domain_classification_xenna
     enabled: true
     script: domain_classification_benchmark.py
diff --git a/benchmarking/run.py b/benchmarking/run.py
index 0be7e8fc96..d3a44f2e4a 100755
--- a/benchmarking/run.py
+++ b/benchmarking/run.py
@@ -45,11 +45,12 @@
 from runner.path_resolver import PathResolver
 from runner.process import run_command_with_timeout
 from runner.ray_cluster import (
+    get_ray_cluster_data,
     setup_ray_cluster_and_env,
     teardown_ray_cluster_and_env,
 )
 from runner.session import Session
-from runner.utils import find_result, get_obj_for_json, resolve_env_vars
+from runner.utils import find_result, get_obj_for_json, remove_disabled_blocks, resolve_env_vars
 
 
 def ensure_dir(dir_path: Path) -> None:
@@ -172,7 +173,7 @@ def run_entry(
             num_gpus=ray_num_gpus,
             enable_object_spilling=ray_enable_object_spilling,
             ray_log_path=logs_path / "ray.log",
-            object_store_size_bytes=entry.object_store_size_bytes,
+            object_store_size=None if entry.object_store_size == "default" else entry.object_store_size,
         )
 
         # Prepopulate <session_entry_path>/params.json with entry params.
@@ -180,7 +181,7 @@ def run_entry(
         (session_entry_path / "params.json").write_text(
             json.dumps(
                 {
-                    "object_store_size_bytes": entry.object_store_size_bytes,
+                    "object_store_size_bytes": entry.object_store_size,
                     "ray_num_cpus": ray_num_cpus,
                     "ray_num_gpus": ray_num_gpus,
                     "ray_enable_object_spilling": ray_enable_object_spilling,
@@ -215,7 +216,7 @@ def run_entry(
                 "logs_dir": logs_path,
             }
         )
-        ray_data = {}
+        ray_cluster_data = get_ray_cluster_data()
         # script_persisted_data is a dictionary with keys "params" and "metrics"
         # "params" will contain everything the script wrote to its params.json file
         # "metrics" will contain everything the script wrote to its metrics.json file plus metrics
@@ -223,7 +224,7 @@ def run_entry(
         script_persisted_data = get_entry_script_persisted_data(session_entry_path)
         result_data.update(
             {
-                "ray_data": ray_data,
+                "ray_cluster_data": ray_cluster_data,
                 "metrics": script_persisted_data["metrics"],
                 "params": script_persisted_data["params"],
             }
@@ -298,12 +299,13 @@ def main() -> int:  # noqa: C901
     # Preprocess the config dict prior to creating objects from it
     try:
         Session.assert_valid_config_dict(config_dict)
+        config_dict = remove_disabled_blocks(config_dict)
         config_dict = resolve_env_vars(config_dict)
     except ValueError as e:
         logger.error(f"Invalid configuration: {e}")
         return 1
 
-    session = Session.create_from_dict(config_dict, args.entries)
+    session = Session.from_dict(config_dict, args.entries)
 
     if args.list:
         for entry in session.entries:
@@ -324,7 +326,6 @@ def main() -> int:  # noqa: C901
 
     # Print a summary of the entries that will be run in the for loop below
     # Disabled entries will not be printed
-    # TODO: should entries be created unconditionally and have an "enabled" field instead?
     logger.info("Benchmark entries to be run in this session:")
     for idx, entry in enumerate(session.entries, start=1):
         logger.info(f"\t{idx}. {entry.name}")
diff --git a/benchmarking/runner/entry.py b/benchmarking/runner/entry.py
index 168f283a05..ebc843cd18 100644
--- a/benchmarking/runner/entry.py
+++ b/benchmarking/runner/entry.py
@@ -17,10 +17,12 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import re
-from dataclasses import dataclass, field
+from dataclasses import dataclass, field, fields
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
 
+from runner.utils import get_total_memory_bytes
+
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from runner.datasets import DatasetResolver
     from runner.path_resolver import PathResolver
@@ -39,14 +41,19 @@ class Entry:
     sink_data: list[dict[str, Any]] | dict[str, Any] = field(default_factory=dict)
     requirements: list[dict[str, Any]] | dict[str, Any] = field(default_factory=dict)
     ray: dict[str, Any] = field(default_factory=dict)  # supports only single node: num_cpus,num_gpus,object_store_gb
-    # If set, overrides the session-level default_object_store_size setting for this entry
-    object_store_size_bytes: int | None = None
+    # If set, overrides the session-level object_store_size setting for this entry
+    # Value will be either number of bytes (int), fraction of system memory (float), or None or "default" (string) both
+    # representing the default object store size as used by "ray start".
+    object_store_size: int | float | str | None = None
     # If set, overrides the session-level delete_scratch setting for this entry
     delete_scratch: bool | None = None
-    enabled: bool = True
 
     def __post_init__(self) -> None:  # noqa: C901, PLR0912
         """Post-initialization checks and updates for dataclass."""
+        # Process object_store_size by converting values representing fractions of system memory to bytes.
+        if isinstance(self.object_store_size, float):
+            self.object_store_size = int(get_total_memory_bytes() * self.object_store_size)
+
         # Convert the sink_data list of dicts to a dict of dicts for easier lookup with key from "name".
         # sink_data typically starts as a list of dicts from reading YAML, like this:
         # sink_data:
@@ -109,6 +116,21 @@ def __post_init__(self) -> None:  # noqa: C901, PLR0912
                     raise ValueError(msg)
         self.requirements = requirements
 
+    @classmethod
+    def from_dict(cls, data: dict[str, Any]) -> Entry:
+        """Create Entry from dict, ignoring extra keys.
+
+        Args:
+            data: Dictionary containing entry configuration data.
+
+        Returns:
+            Entry instance with only valid fields populated.
+        """
+        # Get only the fields that are defined in the dataclass
+        valid_fields = {f.name for f in fields(cls)}
+        filtered_data = {k: v for k, v in data.items() if k in valid_fields}
+        return cls(**filtered_data)
+
     def get_command_to_run(
         self,
         session_entry_path: Path,
diff --git a/benchmarking/runner/env_capture.py b/benchmarking/runner/env_capture.py
index 5f43257450..7e02424384 100644
--- a/benchmarking/runner/env_capture.py
+++ b/benchmarking/runner/env_capture.py
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
 
 def dump_env(session_obj: Session, output_path: Path) -> dict[str, Any]:
     env_data = get_env()
-    env_data["default_object_store_size_bytes"] = session_obj.default_object_store_size_bytes
+    env_data["object_store_size"] = session_obj.object_store_size
 
     # Try package managers in order of preference for capturing the environment
     # package_managers = [("uv", "pip freeze"), ("pip", "freeze"), ("micromamba", "list --explicit"), ("conda", "list --explicit")]  # noqa: ERA001
diff --git a/benchmarking/runner/ray_cluster.py b/benchmarking/runner/ray_cluster.py
index 07a5a662e2..4adccc6a95 100644
--- a/benchmarking/runner/ray_cluster.py
+++ b/benchmarking/runner/ray_cluster.py
@@ -20,7 +20,9 @@
 import time
 import uuid
 from pathlib import Path
+from typing import Any
 
+import ray
 from loguru import logger
 from runner.utils import run_shm_size_check
 
@@ -35,7 +37,7 @@ def setup_ray_cluster_and_env(  # noqa: PLR0913
     num_gpus: int,
     enable_object_spilling: bool,
     ray_log_path: Path,
-    object_store_size_bytes: int | None = None,
+    object_store_size: int | None = None,
     include_dashboard: bool = True,
 ) -> tuple[RayClient, Path]:
     """Setup a Ray cluster and set the RAY_ADDRESS environment variable and return the Ray client and temp dir."""
@@ -70,7 +72,7 @@ def setup_ray_cluster_and_env(  # noqa: PLR0913
             enable_object_spilling=enable_object_spilling,
             ray_dashboard_host="0.0.0.0",  # noqa: S104
             ray_stdouterr_capture_file=ray_stdouterr_capture_file,
-            object_store_memory=object_store_size_bytes,
+            object_store_memory=object_store_size,
         )
         client.start()
 
@@ -111,17 +113,6 @@ def teardown_ray_cluster_and_env(
             logger.exception("Failed to copy/remove Ray temp dir")
 
 
-def _ensure_ray_client_process_started(client: RayClient, timeout_s: int, poll_interval_s: float) -> None:
-    """Ensure the Ray client process has been started, no longer than timeout."""
-    elapsed_s = 0
-    while client.ray_process is None and elapsed_s < timeout_s:
-        time.sleep(poll_interval_s)
-        elapsed_s += poll_interval_s
-    if client.ray_process is None:
-        msg = f"Ray client process failed to start in {timeout_s} seconds"
-        raise RuntimeError(msg)
-
-
 def check_ray_responsive(timeout_s: int = 20) -> bool:
     # Assume the env var RAY_ADDRESS is set to the correct value by code starting the Ray cluster
     logger.debug(f"Verifying Ray cluster is responsive, using RAY_ADDRESS={os.environ.get('RAY_ADDRESS')}")
@@ -141,16 +132,16 @@ def check_ray_responsive(timeout_s: int = 20) -> bool:
                 timeout=timeout_s,
             )
             if "No cluster status" in result.stdout or "Error" in result.stdout:
-                logger.debug(f"Ray cluster is not responsive: {result.stdout}")
+                logger.debug("Ray cluster is not responsive ('No cluster status' returned or Error in output)")
             else:
                 logger.debug("Ray cluster IS responsive")
                 responsive = True
 
-        except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
-            logger.debug(f"Ray cluster is not responsive ('ray status' command failed): {e.stdout}")
+        except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
+            logger.debug("Ray cluster is not responsive ('ray status' command failed)")
 
-        except subprocess.TimeoutExpired as e:
-            logger.debug(f"Ray cluster is not responsive ('ray status' command timed out): {e.stdout}")
+        except subprocess.TimeoutExpired:
+            logger.debug("Ray cluster is not responsive ('ray status' command timed out)")
 
         finally:
             # Also show the output of `df -h /dev/shm`, since this is often a symptom of problems
@@ -165,6 +156,26 @@ def check_ray_responsive(timeout_s: int = 20) -> bool:
     return responsive
 
 
+def get_ray_cluster_data() -> dict[str, Any]:
+    """Get resource data from the Ray cluster."""
+    ray.init(ignore_reinit_error=True)
+    time.sleep(0.2)  # ray.available_resources() returns might have a lag
+    ray_data = ray.cluster_resources()
+    ray.shutdown()
+    return ray_data
+
+
+def _ensure_ray_client_process_started(client: RayClient, timeout_s: int, poll_interval_s: float) -> None:
+    """Ensure the Ray client process has been started, no longer than timeout."""
+    elapsed_s = 0
+    while client.ray_process is None and elapsed_s < timeout_s:
+        time.sleep(poll_interval_s)
+        elapsed_s += poll_interval_s
+    if client.ray_process is None:
+        msg = f"Ray client process failed to start in {timeout_s} seconds"
+        raise RuntimeError(msg)
+
+
 def _copy_item_safely(src_path: Path, dst_path: Path) -> None:
     """Copy a single file or directory, logging warnings on failure."""
     try:
diff --git a/benchmarking/runner/session.py b/benchmarking/runner/session.py
index bd07923a3c..9a2fd3b8a1 100644
--- a/benchmarking/runner/session.py
+++ b/benchmarking/runner/session.py
@@ -36,14 +36,15 @@
 from runner.utils import get_total_memory_bytes
 
 
-@dataclass(frozen=True, kw_only=True)
+@dataclass(kw_only=True)
 class Session:
     results_path: Path
     entries: list[Entry] = field(default_factory=list)
     sinks: list[Sink] = field(default_factory=list)
     default_timeout_s: int = 7200
-    # Set object store memory to 50% of total system memory by default
-    default_object_store_size_bytes: int = int(get_total_memory_bytes() * 0.5)
+    # object store size is either a value in bytes (int), a fraction of total system memory (float), or None or the
+    # value "default" (string) both representing the default object store size as used by "ray start".
+    object_store_size: int | float | str | None = 0.5
     # Whether to delete the entry's scratch directory after completion by default
     delete_scratch: bool = True
     path_resolver: PathResolver = None
@@ -57,6 +58,10 @@ def __post_init__(self) -> None:
             msg = f"Duplicate entry name(s) found: {', '.join(duplicates)}"
             raise ValueError(msg)
 
+        # Process object_store_size by converting values representing fractions of system memory to bytes.
+        if isinstance(self.object_store_size, float):
+            self.object_store_size = int(get_total_memory_bytes() * self.object_store_size)
+
         # Update delete_scratch for each entry that has not been set to the session-level delete_scratch setting
         for entry in self.entries:
             if entry.delete_scratch is None:
@@ -67,10 +72,10 @@ def __post_init__(self) -> None:
             if entry.timeout_s is None:
                 entry.timeout_s = self.default_timeout_s
 
-        # Update object store size for each entry that has not been set to the session-level default_object_store_size setting
+        # Update object store size for each entry that has not been set.
         for entry in self.entries:
-            if entry.object_store_size_bytes is None:
-                entry.object_store_size_bytes = self.default_object_store_size_bytes
+            if entry.object_store_size is None:
+                entry.object_store_size = self.object_store_size
 
     @classmethod
     def assert_valid_config_dict(cls, data: dict) -> None:
@@ -82,7 +87,7 @@ def assert_valid_config_dict(cls, data: dict) -> None:
             raise ValueError(msg)
 
     @classmethod
-    def create_from_dict(cls, data: dict, entry_filter_expr: str | None = None) -> Session:
+    def from_dict(cls, data: dict, entry_filter_expr: str | None = None) -> Session:
         """
         Factory method to create a Session from a dictionary.
 
@@ -99,9 +104,7 @@ def create_from_dict(cls, data: dict, entry_filter_expr: str | None = None) -> S
         sess_data = {k: v for k, v in data.items() if k in sess_field_names}
         sinks = cls.create_sinks_from_dict(sess_data.get("sinks", []))
 
-        # Load entries only if enabled (enabled by default)
-        # TODO: should entries be created unconditionally and use their "enabled" field instead?
-        entries = [Entry(**e) for e in sess_data["entries"] if e.get("enabled", True)]
+        entries = [Entry.from_dict(e) for e in sess_data["entries"]]
 
         # Filter entries based on the expression, if provided.
         # Example: expr "foo and not foobar" will include all entries
@@ -132,10 +135,6 @@ def create_sinks_from_dict(cls, sink_configs: list[dict]) -> list[Sink]:
         sinks = []
         for sink_config in sink_configs:
             sink_name = sink_config["name"]
-            sink_enabled = sink_config.get("enabled", True)
-            if not sink_enabled:
-                logger.warning(f"Sink {sink_name} is not enabled, skipping")
-                continue
             if sink_name == "mlflow":
                 from runner.sinks.mlflow_sink import MlflowSink
 
diff --git a/benchmarking/runner/sinks/gdrive_sink.py b/benchmarking/runner/sinks/gdrive_sink.py
index 9c2e0b1d43..7d09b6c9de 100644
--- a/benchmarking/runner/sinks/gdrive_sink.py
+++ b/benchmarking/runner/sinks/gdrive_sink.py
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ class GdriveSink(Sink):
     def __init__(self, sink_config: dict[str, Any]):
         super().__init__(sink_config)
         self.sink_config = sink_config
-        self.enabled = self.sink_config.get("enabled", True)
         self.results: list[dict[str, Any]] = []
         self.session_name: str = None
         self.matrix_config: Session = None
@@ -57,17 +56,14 @@ def process_result(self, result_dict: dict[str, Any], matrix_entry: Entry) -> No
         pass
 
     def finalize(self) -> None:
-        if self.enabled:
-            try:
-                tar_path = self._tar_results_and_artifacts()
-                self._upload_to_gdrive(tar_path)
-            except Exception as e:  # noqa: BLE001
-                tb = traceback.format_exc()
-                logger.error(f"GdriveSink: Error uploading to Google Drive: {e}\n{tb}")
-            finally:
-                self._delete_tar_file(tar_path)
-        else:
-            logger.warning("GdriveSink: Not enabled, skipping post.")
+        try:
+            tar_path = self._tar_results_and_artifacts()
+            self._upload_to_gdrive(tar_path)
+        except Exception as e:  # noqa: BLE001
+            tb = traceback.format_exc()
+            logger.error(f"GdriveSink: Error uploading to Google Drive: {e}\n{tb}")
+        finally:
+            self._delete_tar_file(tar_path)
 
     def _tar_results_and_artifacts(self) -> Path:
         results_path = Path(self.matrix_config.results_path)
diff --git a/benchmarking/runner/sinks/mlflow_sink.py b/benchmarking/runner/sinks/mlflow_sink.py
index 05b5ddb3c7..bd944f3a57 100644
--- a/benchmarking/runner/sinks/mlflow_sink.py
+++ b/benchmarking/runner/sinks/mlflow_sink.py
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ def __init__(self, sink_config: dict[str, Any]):
         if not self.experiment:
             msg = "MlflowSink: No experiment configured"
             raise ValueError(msg)
-        self.enabled = self.sink_config.get("enabled", True)
         self.results: list[dict[str, Any]] = []
         self.session_name: str = None
         self.matrix_config: Session = None
@@ -54,14 +53,11 @@ def process_result(self, result_dict: dict[str, Any], matrix_entry: Entry) -> No
         self.results.append((additional_metrics, result_dict))
 
     def finalize(self) -> None:
-        if self.enabled:
-            try:
-                self._push(self.results)
-            except Exception as e:  # noqa: BLE001
-                tb = traceback.format_exc()
-                logger.error(f"MlflowSink: Error posting to Mlflow: {e}\n{tb}")
-        else:
-            logger.warning("MlflowSink: Not enabled, skipping post.")
+        try:
+            self._push(self.results)
+        except Exception as e:  # noqa: BLE001
+            tb = traceback.format_exc()
+            logger.error(f"MlflowSink: Error posting to Mlflow: {e}\n{tb}")
 
     def _push(self, results: list[dict[str, Any]]) -> None:
         pass
diff --git a/benchmarking/runner/sinks/slack_sink.py b/benchmarking/runner/sinks/slack_sink.py
index 3405307aea..8891314f4a 100644
--- a/benchmarking/runner/sinks/slack_sink.py
+++ b/benchmarking/runner/sinks/slack_sink.py
@@ -75,7 +75,6 @@ class SlackSink(Sink):
     def __init__(self, sink_config: dict[str, Any]):
         super().__init__(sink_config)
         self.sink_config = sink_config
-        self.enabled = self.sink_config.get("enabled", True)
         self.session_name: str | None = None
         self.matrix_config: Session = None
         self.env_dict: dict[str, Any] = None
@@ -108,15 +107,12 @@ def process_result(self, result_dict: dict[str, Any], matrix_entry: Entry) -> No
 
     def finalize(self) -> None:
         # Posts the queued results to slack as a final report.
-        if self.enabled:
-            try:
-                self._post()
-            except Exception as e:  # noqa: BLE001
-                # Optionally, log or handle posting errors
-                tb = traceback.format_exc()
-                logger.error(f"SlackSink: Error posting to Slack: {e}\n{tb}")
-        else:
-            logger.warning("SlackSink: Not enabled, skipping post.")
+        try:
+            self._post()
+        except Exception as e:  # noqa: BLE001
+            # Optionally, log or handle posting errors
+            tb = traceback.format_exc()
+            logger.error(f"SlackSink: Error posting to Slack: {e}\n{tb}")
 
     def _post(self) -> None:  # noqa: C901
         message_text_values = {
diff --git a/benchmarking/runner/utils.py b/benchmarking/runner/utils.py
index 6545400016..4e659c4ebc 100644
--- a/benchmarking/runner/utils.py
+++ b/benchmarking/runner/utils.py
@@ -60,6 +60,34 @@ def _replace_env_var(match: re.Match[str]) -> str:
         raise ValueError(msg)
 
 
+def remove_disabled_blocks(obj: object) -> object:
+    """
+    Recursively remove dictionary blocks that contain "enabled": False.
+    Processes dicts and lists; other types are returned unchanged.
+    """
+    if isinstance(obj, dict):
+        # If this block explicitly disables itself, remove it
+        if obj.get("enabled", True) is False:
+            return None
+        # Else process all values
+        result = {}
+        for k, v in obj.items():
+            filtered = remove_disabled_blocks(v)
+            if filtered is not None:
+                result[k] = filtered
+        return result
+    elif isinstance(obj, list):
+        # Process each item; skip any that are removed
+        result = []
+        for item in obj:
+            filtered = remove_disabled_blocks(item)
+            if filtered is not None:
+                result.append(filtered)
+        return result
+    else:
+        return obj
+
+
 def resolve_env_vars(data: dict | list | str | object) -> dict | list | str | object:
     """Recursively resolve environment variables in strings in/from various objects.